Reuters World News - Drone wars: A Ukrainian gamer turns pilot and Moscow’s financials district adjusts

Episode Date: August 3, 2023

Former President Donald Trump expected in a DC courtroom. In Ukraine, a former video gamer now uses his joystick to direct kamikaze drones – while in Moscow attacks force the financial district to adjust to war. Plus Manipur’s violence and Colombia’s ceasefire.  Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices. You may also visit megaphone.fm/adchoices to opt-out of targeted advertising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, Donald Trump expected in court to face charges of conspiracy against the United States. A video gamer finds his skills put to the test on Ukraine's front lines, as drones bring the war to businesses and residents of Moscow's financial district. In Colombia, a landmark ceasefire begins, and a stretch of highway in India is now a symbol of vicious sectarian hatred and violence. It's Thursday, August 3rd. This is Reuters World News, with everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes every weekday. I'm Kimbernell in London.

First, the headlines making news around the world. Donald Trump is due to a pair in a Washington, D.C. courtroom later today. The former president expected to plead not guilty on charges that he conspired against the US when he tried to overturn Joe Biden's 2020 election victory. It's the third time Trump has faced criminal charges in four months, and more could come shortly from Georgia state prosecutors. Trump says he has always followed the law. Follow all the latest on Reuters.com or the Reuters app. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie have announced that they are separating.

The couple were married in May 2005 and have three children. Typhoon Canoon has pounded Japan's southwest, leaving at least two dead. Okinawa and Kagoshima have been hit with heavy rain and gusty winds for a second straight day. Authorities warn that the storm is moving so slowly, its damage could be prolonged. A partial pardon of jailed former leader Aung San Suu Kyi by Myanmar's ruling military means absolutely nothing, her younger son Kim Aris, tells Reuters. The only real meaningful movement that they could come up with is releasing her and restoring the democratic government,

but they're not about to do that any time soon. He called on Western governments to do more to step up pressure on the junta. The Nobel laureate has been imprisoned since they took over in 2021. An early whale unearthed by scientists in Peru might be the largest animal ever to have lived on earth. At 340 metric tons, the mass of Perocetus colossus would exceed any other known animal, including today's blue whale and the largest dinosaurs. A Bank of England rate decision and Apple earnings top a busy day for market data. Investors will be looking for any indication that Britain's central bank will join the Fed and other

countries in considering a pause on raising rates. While the latest CPI showed inflation easing, it remains to be seen whether that can be sustained in the UK, or whether the BEO will be the last of the big central banks left battling inflation. Growing up in Ukraine, 25-year-old Mikhailo was always told that video games would do him no good. Now the Army drone pilot is proving that wrong. Joystick in hand and goggles on, he's testing Kamakazi drones near the the southeastern Zaporizia front line. Mikhailo, whose call sign is Joker,

spoke to Reuters in an undisclosed location. He explains how difficult it is to fly an FPV drone laden with explosives and hit a target. The slightest movements done on a joystick can significantly alter the drone's course. Unlike some other drones, with the FPV, a pilot has to be in control of his joystick, at all times. They've even been programmed with video game sounds. As Mikhailo and Ukraine ramp up

their use of drones on the front line, over in Moscow, residents are regularly waking up to new attacks. The Russian capital has been hit twice in recent days. Alex Morrow is reporting on the drone strikes that hit a building in the central business district. Alex, no one was killed, so why are they significant? Well, I think that firstly, this building houses three different government ministries, the economy ministry, the industry and trade ministry and the digital ministry. And we've already had attacks in Moscow. We've seen attacks at the Kremlin. We've seen one near the defence ministry. So I think it's just more up in the ante kind of a way of saying that nowhere is particularly safe and that there are high-level targets that drones could strike. So how are people feeling in

Moscow right now, particularly in this financial district? Well, I think generally, Moscow's often felt like the safest place or a safer place that's going to be defended to the hilt. And obviously, in recent months with these attacks, people have become a little bit more shaky. But on the whole, most people remain comfortable. People in the financial district that we spoke to, there were some who were very blasé, very resolute saying that it's not going to deter me from going to work. And I think we're going to keep doing that. But there are others who find it much more frightening. A full ceasefire is set to begin in Colombia today, between the country's armed forces

and the National Liberation Army, or ELN, rebels. The step was agreed to in June, during peace negotiations between the two sides, meant to end the guerrilla group's part in the country's nearly six decades of internal conflict. Julia Sims Cobb has been following the significance of the talks. Sixty years of conflict. Sixty years of conflict. almost half a million people killed in that time. Even after a peace agreement, what are going to be the longer lasting ramifications? So what we know from our experience with the FARC rebels who signed a peace deal in 2016 is that while peace deals may mean disarmament and the beginning of reintegration of rebel

fighters into regular civil society, they don't solve all of Colombian's problems. We've seen some breakaway groups from the FARC who reject the peace deal and have continued to be armed and be involved allegedly in crimes like drug trafficking and violence. We've also seen some ex-combatants have a really difficult time reintegrate into civil society. They've also been targets for crime gangs that are descended from former paramilitary groups. So it's very complicated, both for former fighters and for the country at large to sort of reintegrate people and start moving ahead in a new peace scenario. A one-mile stretch of highway in India's Manipur state, has become the symbol of a vicious sectarian conflict

that has severely dented the strongman image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The bitter fighting between the Maiti community and the Kuki tribe has lasted three months and killed over 180 people. Christian Kaucik has been on the ground in Manipur. Christian, how did the violence start? On May 3rd, Cookies, along with certain Nagas, held protest rallies across the state, which was against the recent High Court order that recommended that the state government should consider giving Maity's certain benefits of

reservations and landownership that the cookies and the Nagas have had for decades. Once the rally ended, there were clashes between cookies and maitis in the bordering districts. What impact has this had on Modi's standing? Prime Minister of Larendra Modi has always made National National. security is one of the major electoral planks for himself, projecting himself as being extremely strong when it comes to national security. However, the first comments from him came only about after 80 days after the violence started. The delayed response along with the continued violence, which has become entrenched

with both sides firing at each other from bunkers, has been a rare failure for Prime Minister and Andromedram Modi in his nine years in power. Is there any sort of resolution in sight? The divisions at the moment are so deep that there's no resolution or reconciliation inside. It will take a lot of effort from both the state and the central governments to convince both sides that they can come together. It will also take a lot of effort to bring back the weapons that have seeped into the societies through which the two communities are fighting with each other.

That's it for today's episode of Reuters World News. We'll be back tomorrow with our daily show. To make sure you know what's going on in the world, listen in for 10 minutes every weekday. And don't forget to subscribe on your favourite podcast player or download the Reuters app.